El Japones, PR
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 6 ppb (monitoring period 2026-2026). The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. Lead was measured in sampled homes but the 90th percentile is under both action levels. EPA's health goal for lead is zero, so test your own tap if your home was built before 1986 or anyone in it is pregnant or a young child.
El Japones at a glance
El Japones serves about 1,330 people through 498 service connections, which makes it a small system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws groundwater, in San German Municipio County, PR. EPA system ID: PR0003425; phone on file: 787-620-2277. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2025 (5 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for El Japones is 6 ppb across 8 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 6 ppb |
| 2025 | 5 ppb |
| 2025 | 6 ppb |
| 2024 | 6 ppb |
| 2024 | 6 ppb |
| 2023 | 6 ppb |
| 2023 | 6 ppb |
| 2016 | 6 ppb |
Where this result ranks
Of the 111 PR systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 5 ppb; 10 are over 15 ppb right now and 16 have gone over at some point. El Japones's 6 ppb sits at the 56th percentile in PR and the 93rd nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
5 other systems share San German Municipio County; 0 of them have a higher latest lead result than El Japones. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Pedregal | 1,340 | - |
| Periche | 1,100 | - |
| Capriles | 590 | 6 ppb |
| Com. Rio Piedras | 220 | - |
| Comunidad Mendez | 60 | - |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; San German, PR may offer free or low-cost kits through the utility. If your own line is lead, replacing the private side runs about $1,200-$12,300 (EPA average about $4,700). Ask El Japones whether it covers that cost before hiring anyone - many utilities now do.
These figures describe homes the utility sampled, not your tap. Only your service line record or a test of your own water answers the question for your house. Why sampled homes are the worst-case ones is in the guide to reading the number. Size matters more than most people expect: small vs large water systems.